Decisions, decisions, decisions. We have small decisions
to make and big decisions to make. There is one decision we all have to make,
that is to decide for God or not, to live with God first in our life or not.
This is the big decision we see being made in the first reading today in the
book of Joshua (Josh 24:1-2, 15-18) and in the Gospel (John 6:60-69). In the
first reading after Joshua brought the Hebrews across the river Jordan into the
Promised Land of Canaan he asked them to decide whom they would serve, either
God or the pagan gods their ancestors had worshipped. Naturally they chose to
worship God. They had seen what God did for their parents, bringing them out of
Egypt. They also saw what God allowed to happen to their parents when their
parents rebelled against God; everything went badly and although their parents
left Egypt they never entered Canaan, instead it was their sons and daughters
who got to enjoy Canaan. They saw that obeying God and putting God first brings
a blessing but forgetting about God and turning one’s back on God leaves one in
the desert. They saw that when you put God first you have freedom, but when you
turn away from God you are not free. Putting God first helps you to realize your
potential but turning from God leaves you stagnant and stuck. They saw that
putting God first brings you a much better life but rebelling against God is
really inflicting a wound on yourself. Yes, that first generation that crossed
the Jordan into Canaan had learned so much by seeing their rebellious parents
die in the desert. They did not want to make the same mistake as their parents
so they said to Joshua that they too like Joshua and his family wanted to serve
God.

Unfortunately it is a different story in the Gospel today
(John 6:60-69). Many of Jesus’ followers turned away from him when they heard
him preaching on the Eucharist, the preaching of Jesus we have listened to
during recent Sundays. Hearing Jesus speak about his body and blood as
nourishment was too much for them. Jesus told them their ancestors ate bread in
the desert and died but the bread Jesus would offer would allow them to live
forever. When many were contemplating not following Jesus any more, he
practically made an appeal to them to reconsider when he said to them that the
spirit gives life while the flesh has nothing to offer. The words Jesus told
them are spirit and life. In other words, if they turn from Jesus they are
turning from life to death. If they turn from Jesus they are turning from light
to darkness. If they turn from Jesus they are turning from the One who gave them
the new commandment to love one another and going back again to the custom of an
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If they turn from Jesus they are turning
from the One who showed them the correct understanding of the Law of Moses to go
back again to try but never succeed in fulfilling all the 613 laws of Moses. If
they turn from Jesus they turn from freedom to slavery. But Peter understood
correctly and responded to Jesus,“Master,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Indeed, to
whom else shall we go? Going to anyone or anything else would be a mistake as we
would have to double back in our tracks once again.“Master,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Only in Jesus have we
the freedom we seek. Only when we live with Jesus in our life do all the parts
of our life fit together. Whenever as individuals or as a country we have
decisions to make, we can say to Jesus, “Master,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

That freedom and a new better way of living is what we see
played out in the second reading from Ephesians today (Eph 5:21-32), especially
the consequences of belief in Christ for marriage. Everyone, the letter advises,
is to submit to everyone else (Eph 5:21). The way it is said in Greek means that
you make this act of submission yourself, so it means mutually submitting to one
another out of reverence for Christ. It is not something forced on you because
Christian homes are to be homes of love modeled on the love of Christ. The
reading continues by advising husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the
Church (Eph 5:25). How did Christ love the Church? Christ loved the Church by
dying for the Church, or as the reading says by handing himself over for her.
The reading means husbands are to love their wives in a sacrificial way to the
end. So when the letter says the husband is head of the wife as Christ is head
of the Church (Eph 5:23), it is not talking about power. Christ was not into
power or control. If the husband is the head like Christ then he is asked to
love like Christ. To make sure we get the message we are told husbands are to
love their wives as their own bodies (Eph 5:28). Husband and wife are one body
in marriage Genesis tells us (Gen 2:24), so it is natural for a spouse to love
the other as their own body because they are now one body in marriage. This is a
totally new way of understanding marriage in the first century. Nowhere else do
we get a description of marriage like this. Those who turned away from Jesus in
the Gospel today turned away from all the beautiful consequences that the new
life in Christ brings.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. The Hebrews in the first
reading (Josh 24:1-2, 15-18) decided to worship God because they saw that when
you put God first you have freedom, but when you turn away from God you are not
free. They saw that obeying God and putting God first brings a blessing but
forgetting about God and turning one’s back on God leaves one in the desert. In
the Gospel (John 6:60-69), Peter understood and responded to Jesus, “Master,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Indeed, to
whom else shall we go? Going to anyone or anything else would be a mistake as we
would have to double back in our tracks once again. Only in Jesus have we the
freedom we seek. The second reading gives us a beautiful picture of the
consequences of the new life in Christ for the families. “Master,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”